I’ve been a fan of Tom Peters since the early 1990s – a
recent email of his caught my eye as being particularly reflective of what’s
happening in today’s economy:
Radical Personal Development
On 1 January 2014, Tom
tweeted: "Accelerating tech changes/etc.= Middle class in tank: good
jobs are falling to algorithmic automation and offshoring. ONLY answer/ONLY
chance: Determined/intensive commitment to personal growth. Start date 1/1/14.
Tom continued: "You totally misunderstand overall economic context if you choose
not to start today on RPD/Radical Personal Development." For more on this
topic, see Tom's latest manifesto, "Excellence.
NO EXCUSES."
We all face the challenge of
thriving in a world where white collar work will change in ways we can scarcely
imagine. Prominent observers warn of job destruction at a faster rate than new
jobs can be generated and mass middle class unemployment, leading to social unrest.
I.e., a Revolution! Tom has been talking about the White Collar Revolution
since 1999. It's starting to take some twists even he didn't see coming.
Other commentators are predicting
that future economic success depends on the creation of jobs that require a significant element of
human ingenuity and creativity; that is, worth the high wages we require to
support our preferred living standards.
“The root of our problem is not
that we’re in a Great Recession or a Great Stagnation, but rather that we are
in the early throes of a Great Restructuring. Our technologies are racing
ahead, but our skills and organizations are lagging behind.”—Erik Brynjolfsson
& Andrew McAfee/Race Against The Machine
Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown
(A New Culture of Learning) report that the Internet has opened up a
revolutionary type of learning, which they call “Arc of Life Learning.” Thomas
and Brown indicate that the Internet offers us endless content and enables
proactive learners to capitalize on these opportunities. It is up to each
individual to dive in.
Over the last several years, I personally have benefitted by
taking a large number of seminary courses that are offered online by seminaries
such as RTS and Covenant. But there are so many more possibilities. I think that the more Christians can be aware of and try to stay current with these trends, the better things can be for our culture as a whole.
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